The world forgetting by the world forgot
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
Each pray'r accepted and each wish resign'd?
a. Delete all spaces in header.
b. Add XYcoord
c. delete all columns with no data in them
2. Determine the counties in and around data points
3. Go the http://data.geocomm.com/ (google search Data Depot)
4. Click on USGS DEMs
5. Download DEM data – by State CountyDEM 24KNormal Download TAR.ZIP file (10 meter)
6. Extract twice (should have many files)
7. Download sdts converter, which can be found on same web page (SDTS DEM: http://software.geocomm.com/transla
8. Enter four digit number (the extracted file’s name) and the country, when prompted.
9. Should end up with a .dem file.
How many teenagers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only two, as long as the lightbulb is big enough.
So a boy asks his father, "Is God white or black?" The father responds, "both." "Is he a woman or a man?" "Both."... "Daddy, is God Michael Jackson?"
First off, in order to answer those questions, a few things must be considered:
2. The Bible can be read for its ethical and spiritual teachings, but it also has a secular side. It is a history book covering the first four thousand years of human civilization (source). Hence, there is a history lesson in it as well.
3. Hence, even atheists can benefit from reading it in order to understand where others are coming from.
Reading materials:
1. Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimov
2. The American Standard Bible
1. The Economist
2. The New Yorker
3. Harper Bazaar
4. Oprah Magazine
5. Martha Stewart Living
6. The Atlantic
7. National Geographic
8. Vanity Fair
1. Iron Man (2008)
2. The KGB, the Computer and Me (1990 TV documentary)
3. Subject: I Love You (2009)
4. Takedown (2000)
5. Breaking the Code (1996 TV movie) A biography of the English mathematician Alan Turing, who was one of the inventors of the digital computer and one of the key figures in the breaking of the Enigma code, used by the Germans to send secret orders to their U-boats in World War II.
6. Art & Copy (2009 documentary)
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
8. Hacks (1997 documentary)
9. Capturing the Friedmans (2003 documentary)
1. Search for cracks. Spend some time looking at the major areas of your life (work, marriage, family, service, etc.), and identify anywhere you might have cut corners, compromised, or let people down.Write down every instance you recall in the past two months.
2. Look for patterns. Examine the responses that you just wrote down. Is there a particular area where you have a weakness, or do you have a type of problem that keeps surfacing? Detectable patterns will help you diagnose character issues.
3. Face the music. The beginning of character repair comes when you face your flaws, apologize, and deal with the consequences of your actions. Create a list of people to whom you need to apologize for your actions, then follow through with sincere apologies.
4. Rebuild. It's one thing to face up to your past actions. It's another to build a new future. Now that you've identified any area of weakness, create a plan that will prevent you from making the same mistakes again.
Source: ISBN 13: 978-0-7852-7440-7
Luxury does not make someone a better person, it only spoils them and makes them worse. I want my future house to be as minimalist and as bare as possible. I want to have few possessions. I am not saying that my home has to be boring, it will be painted with sunny colors and decorated with flowers that were grown in my garden. But, the less possessions I have, the less I have to keep track of. Therefore, the more room I have in my mind freed up for thinking about important things -- philosophy, life's implications, love, how to do my job better, and the like.
Now, having said that, it would contradictory to say that if you don't have anything to spend money on, it would be wise to buy a cabin in the mountains... a second home, a getaway place that is at least a mile away from the closest neighbor... for the purpose of getting away from everyone and everything to reflect. A place where no one can find you or bother you.
1. If you wait for Mr. Right, he might take a long time to cross paths with you
2. He might not exist.
Don't worry about passionate romance when considering a potential husband. Think of marriage as finding a companion for life. Someone who will pick up the kids from soccer practice while you get some peaceful rest. Someone who will help pay the mortgage. Someone who takes out the trash and fixes your car. Someone who helps you make important decisions. Someone who is reliable and honest. Someone you can trust and someone who knows you well. It is not useful to think of a marriage as a romantic attachment. The love wears down eventually, and between work and kids, you wouldn't be able to spend much time with him anyway, even if you were "destined." I'm not saying that you shouldn't have sex, or go out on dates to the movies.... I hope that I don't sound like I think marriage should be bland and boring, that is NOT what keeps the marriage together, all I am saying is that marriage isn't all romance and sparkles. It is true love and commitment. Sacrifice the things that most women want (perfect body, good sex, money, treats you like a queen) with the things that matter more. Most women, as much as they complain about their husbands, would rather stay with him than be single. Being single is a lot of work, it is better to have "someone on your team," so to speak, instead of going at it alone. In short, don't pass up a potentially good husband just because he doesn't look like Tom Cruise. A good husband is:
1. Financially independent
2. Reliable
3. Easy to be around with
4. Honest / is someone you can trust
5. And smart
Marry someone like that, even though you don't feel a romantic attachment. Love will come with time. If there is one thing I learned from my last relationship is that I can love anyone if they give me a chance to find an excuse to love them. I can find something to love in everyone. I love to love. I am a loving person. I like to leave my heart in the care of someone.
In conclusion, marriage is like the extra padding of life -- for both you and your future husband. If your husband falls on hard times, gets laid off, becomes injured, needs a little extra help, you will do everything to get him back up on his feet. You will encourage him when he becomes disheartened or dispirited. It is the ultimate insurance of life. Anything could go wrong, bring it on, you will say. You will always have support no matter what. Two people are stronger than one. It is just like that song, "Umbrella" (by Rhihanna). "Now that it's raining more than ever... you can stand underneath my umbrella." You can't go it alone in life, you need a partner in crime.
And, this is not just a purely practical and utilitarian viewpoint. There is a lot more romance in a partnership (or marriage) in which the pair is so strongly bound. There is a lot of trust and care that is involved, from which results true love.
What is love? The old, hunched, and feeble couple sitting in the park, holding hands.... still in love.
Like a genoise, this cake gets its spongy texture from eggs that are whisked until thick and voluminous. To the airy batter from deflating, work gently but quickly as you fold in the browned sugar and dry ingredients.
FOR THE CAKE
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
7 large eggs
0.25 tsp. baking soda
0.25 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
0.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups whole milk
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
FOR THE RUM-FRUIT TOPPINGS
0.25 cup plus 2 tbsp. dark rum
0.25 cup sugar
2 tbsp. water
2 cups sliced of diced fruit, such as mangos and strawberries
Whipped cream, for serving
1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish
2. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until butter browns, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Whist egg whites, baking soda, and salt with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Add yolks, and whisk until combined. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar in slow, steady stream, and mix until combined. Using a rubber spatula, quickly and gently fold butter mixture into egg mixture.
4. Combine flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. sift 1/3 cup flour-cinnamon mixture over egg mixture, and gently fold to combine. Working quickly, sift remaining flour-cinnamon mixture over egg mixture in 2 additions, and gently fold to combine. Pour batter into prepared dish, and bake until golden and a tester inserted into center comes clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, whisk together the three milks in a medium bowl. Pour over cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Transfer cake in dish to a wire rack to cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Make the rum-fruit topping: Bring rum, sugar, and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, and cook until sugar dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes. Toss syrup with fruit. Serve cake with rum-fruit mixture and whipped cream.
In order to take sides on the stem cell debate, one must answer some tough ethical questions: what is the value of one life? And how can you quantify potential?
<picture goes here>
"What's worse is that atheists blindly follow whatever their scientists tell them to, no matter how unbelievably fantastical it sounds to rational ears. Yeah, earthquakes are caused by the shifting of giant unseen plates buried deep beneath the Earth. There's no way it could be God jiggling the globe because people in California commit sodomy. No, that would be too simple." -- Stephen Colbert
ON RELIGION:
"If your Bible is in good shape, you're not" -- William A. Sikes
I highlighted things in my Bible that don't make sense. A lot of it doesn't, and a lot of bizarre things are written in it. What confuses me is why all the Christian sects (Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, etc.) don't ever get together and agree on who goes to heaven and who doesn't. There is only one heaven, and someone ("It's the Mormons!") must be right while everyone else is wrong. Doesn't that scare everyone?
1) Eliminate summer vacation. The Atlantic talks about how richer kids can afford to continue their eduction with expensive summer programs, while the poor suffer the "backsliding" effect, an inability to maintain last fall's lessons. While it is important to spend some quality time with the family, American children spend less time in the classroom than all of the other children in the world. It would seem that there is only one sensible thing to do: stop wasting tax dollars and invest in a compulsory summer program. This isn't a far-out concept coming from a think tank; it can be put into effect as early as this August.
2) Extend the school day. The Atlantic claims that longer school days keeps troubled kids out of the dangerous streets in which they live, but it seems counter-intuitive to me. If you keep them longer in the classroom, that means that they will come out when the violence is in full swing, at dusk, when night falls. If you have a longer commute, or extra-curricular activities, the student's safety may be jeopardized. The only reason why this idea is good is the fact that you can cram more learning into the day, and therefore be smarter. But unfortunately, the inner-city kids would be at a disadvantage here.
3) Expand bilingual education. The Atlantic claims that the kids who are "seeped" in two languages at a very young age have a verbal advantage over homo-lingual counterparts. I have nothing against bilingual elementary schools and I would definitely send my child to one. What I would like to add is an identity dimension to this discussion: often, the kids who are struggling are native to another country. Perhaps they feel a loss of identity or a longing to belong. A bilingual education will help them connect to their own culture and origin while learning at the same time. Let's face it, English was not my first language and I know how difficult it can be to not only be expected to stay on top of your lessons but also to find your niche in a big new world.
4) Raise Compulsory Eduction Age. The Atlantic claims that the longer you stay in school, the greater the percent of employment. I disagree. I believe that we are choosing quantity over quality here. Kids are motivated in HS in order to go to the college of their dreams, but if one year of post-HS grad of education is guaranteed, it just stalls the whole process. The unmotivated kids will just get one more opportunity to fail while the motivated kids might try less hard if they knew they had a year to spare. I think 18 is already too late to be graduating out of high school. Lowering the compulsory age (4 or 5 for first grade), I can see that. But raising?? No. If HS didn't already prepare the kid for college, then, another year will just be a waste of money.
5) Kill the SAT. The Atlantic claims the SAT is old-fashioned and does not measure the appropriate aptitude skills. Also, it gives the rich kids an advantage, The only thing I have against the SATs is that students study for them. It is already too late to study vocabulary words or math tricks if the child has done nothing else the foregoing 10 years. However, I do believe that there should be some kind of standard way to determine whether a student is ready for college coursework. It will save the student time and their parents' money.
6) End tenure. The Atlantic claims that tenure works against incentives to do better, so the author suggests replacing it with seven-year contracts to be renewed on the basis of performance, publishing, and teaching quality. I don't see any problem with seven-year contracts, since it will open up positions for more qualified, competent teachers and professors, though I wonder if seven years is too little. Compared to the short-lived 5 years of high school, and an average of 4-6 years in a university, a potentially lazy teacher's contract can outlive a student's whole educational career. Every two years is a better contract.
7) Pay For Your Major. The Atlantic claims that Gov. Jeb Bush came up with the idea of having a nursing degree cost less than a psychology degree. We are talking about education, here, not material commodities, so this plan will not work. First, how about offering more aid and giving out more scholarships to professions that are in demand? Paying extra to get your major may encourage more students to give up on schooling prematurely. They are already paying enough for tuition, textbooks and living expenses as it is. How about a little more help??
Please read the other three on your own. Not worth commenting on.
Source: business.theatlantic.com/2009/06/10_craz
"This, I submit, is the freedom of real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted: You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't. You get to decide what to worship... Because here's something else that's true. In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship."
He goes on to say that if you don't find meaning in spiritual-like things (J.C, Allah, the Four Nobel Truths, or some infrangible set of ethical principles, then you will end up worshipping something you are not even aware of. Most people are religious about their career, others are obsessed with material things. And if money brings meaning to your life, then you will feel like you never have enough. And that's the truth.
So what does it mean to be an atheist? It means you live in a material world, philosophically speaking. And since I am on vacation and don't have my Philosophy of Religion textbook with me, I can't tell you more accurately what that material world would look like, all I remember is that it would be strange living in a material world and the world we live in looks nothing like it.
There's no atheist in a foxhole is what my ex-boyfriend always said. And that is the truth.
NPR, Fox, Using variants of Beatle songs for magazine article titles, NASA, PETA, NASCARs, Lou Dobbs, hippies, feminists (women who pay for their own breast implants), people who use the race card, Republicans, Democrats, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Jeff Foxworthy,
Actually I could hate anything or anyone who doesn't happen to suit me or have the same set of beliefs as me. But that doesn't make me any more of a person than they are. It makes me less of a person. In Grey's Anatomy (Season 4, episode 9, "Crash Into Me"), Miranda must operate on a Supremacist nazi (with an offensive swastika tattoo on his abdomen) who requests a white doctor to stand next to him to make sure she "doesn't kill him". She complies, begrudgingly, at her own personal inconvenience to do her best to save his life. Another surgeon tells her that she in perfectly within her right to take this up to a higher authority but she tells him no, "because that would make her no different than him."
Truer words couldn't have been spoken. If the nazi patient mistrusts Miranda because she is not of Aryan race (African-American), then she would be no different than him if she complained that a nazi was giving her a hard time. Miranda was being a bigger person because she saw at that moment the broader meaning of hate, and the root cause of groups like the nazis. Hate stems from intolerance and she would be intolerant if she reported him or gave up on his operation. So yes, I could say I hate nazis, and racists, and sexists. I could say that the world would be better without them and they deserve being hated, but that would make me no different from them. The point is that I have targeted a group of the undesired, just as they have done. I'm not saying that what nazis did isn't wrong, or that it's not their fault, I am just trying to point out that by choosing to hate another group of people, there is a nazi in all of us. Listen to Lily Allen's song, Fuck You:
Look inside, look inside your tiny mind
Then look a bit harder
'Cause we're so uninspired, so sick and tired
Of all the hatred you harbor
So you say it's not okay to be gay
Well, I think you're just evil
You're just some racist who can't tie my laces
Your point of view is medieval
Fuck you, fuck you very, very much
'Cause we hate what you do
And we hate your whole crew
So please don't stay in touch
Fuck you, fuck you very, very much
'Cause your words don't translate
And it's getting quite late
So please don't stay in touch
Do you get, do you get a little kick
Out of being small minded?
You want to be like your father
It's approval you're after
Well, that's not how you find it
You say you think we need to go to war
Well, you're already in one
'Cause it's people like you that need to get slew
No one wants your opinion
Allen has written a catchy tune that is enjoyable when you are angry at someone, but she has failed to recognize the point I am trying to make here. She's singing about a group of people that she particularly finds conservative in their views, but she's not being any more tolerant of them than they are of her. Wrong doesn't make right.
It doesn't matter who I hate or love, what pleases me or what annoys me, it always changes. All I know is that a person is not defined by their beliefs and beliefs aren't worth dying for. Listing the things I hate isn't worth it.
Jennifer Aniston annoys me because I've seen her face on the cover of every magazine for my entire life. NASA fails miserably on many costly projects and fails to take the danger of meteorites hitting the Earth more seriously. Lou Dobbs is intolerant of illegal immigrants, people who play the race card get things they often don't deserve, the polarity between the Democrats and Republicans has fucked up this country, Julia Roberts isn't nearly as beautiful as everyone praises her to be, in fact she is pretty ugly. feminists are more sexist than men, and NPR is extremely lame. Those are my opinions and they are subject to change.
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